Interviewer and Hiring Manager Guide

You’re about to interview a deaf candidate through an interpreter. If this is your first time, you may not be fully aware of what to expect. But don’t worry. This guide will help you successfully navigate the interview process.

Sign Language and Interpreters: What You Need to Know

Sign language interpreters generally do not have a technical background. While you will hopefully be working with someone experienced in interpreting technical discussions in your area of expertise, they won’t be familiar with all the technical jargon. To interpret correctly, they must understand the context. If they don’t, they will inadvertently misinterpret what you or the candidate said.

Sign language doesn’t work as a one-to-one literal translation of spoken language. It’s its own language with its own grammar. That means the interpreter often has to listen to the full sentence, understand it, and then interpret it. To do that effectively, you’ll need to communicate in an interpreter-friendly manner. Remember, if they don’t understand you, the candidate won’t either. Here are some tips to minimize that risk:

• Pace yourself when you speak to allow the interpreter to process the sentence before interpreting. Speak at a natural pace, avoid long pauses, and don’t interrupt or ask multiple questions at once.
• Try to avoid unnecessary tech jargon whenever possible. While the candidate may be familiar with these terms, the interpreter may not, which will make proper interpretation more challenging.
• If the candidate’s answer doesn’t make sense, ask again and try to rephrase the question (or paste the question in the chat) to ensure the interpreter got it right. It may be an interpreter issue, rather than a lack of subject matter expertise on the candidate’s part.
• Create a safe space for questions. Start by saying, “If you need me to repeat or rephrase a question at any time, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Why Is It Important to Use the Candidate’s Preferred Interpreter?

• Technical familiarity: Sign language interpreters tend to cover a variety of topics and aren’t hyper-specialized in one topic. A candidate’s regular interpreter is often familiar with the technical jargon of the candidate’s job field.
• Accuracy and nuance: Sign language relies on facial expressions and body language. An interpreter familiar with the candidate’s work drastically reduces ambiguity, and building up that familiarity takes time.
• Risk of error: If the interpreter gets it wrong, you might attribute the error to the candidate, which might make all the difference between getting the job or not. This risk still exists with preferred interpreters, but is significantly minimized.

Why Aren’t Captions Enough?

Some deaf individuals have excellent pronunciation but may still need an interpreter. While automated captions can help verify the accuracy of words, they don’t capture the tone, pacing, and emotion, which are all part of effective communication. These are all subtleties the interpreter can help communicate.

There Will Be Communication Challenges

Even with preferred interpreters, in a technical interview, miscommunication is likely to occur. Job interviews might branch out into topics that are not necessarily familiar to the interpreter. Always keep in mind that interpreters are not technical, even if they are familiar with some of the technical jargon.

Sign language interpreters often aren’t highly specialized in one area, and supporting your candidate might be just one of many topic areas they cover. That’s very different from interpreters for spoken language, who tend to be highly specialized in one specific area. It’s much more feasible for them to interpret for someone they have never worked with.

How Do You Minimize That Risk?

If the candidate’s response seems off, ask again and post the question in the chat if allowed. It is more likely that there was a misunderstanding than not. And always keep in mind that the interpreter, who does not have a technical background, needs to understand the question to interpret it correctly.

Prepare the Environment (Virtual and In-Person)

Before any interaction, ensure the physical or virtual environment is accessible:

• Good lighting: The interviewer’s face must be well-lit and clearly visible. Avoid sitting with a bright window behind you. Since deaf people can’t hear your voice, they fully rely on visuals to make a personal connection.
• Stable camera: In virtual interviews, use a stable connection and position the camera at eye level.
• Minimal distractions: A quiet environment with minimal background noise or visual clutter helps everyone focus.

Plan for Additional time

Also, keep in mind that the interpreter and candidate may need extra time. We recommend planning for an additional 15-minute buffer (or more, depending on your interview process). Here is why:

• The interpreter and candidate might need a few back-and-forths for clarification on technical signs, technical language, or terminology.
• During coding and whiteboarding, the candidate won’t be able to code or draw and talk at the same time. This will happen sequentially (code or draw first and explain later), which naturally takes more time.
• The candidate needs to explain things to two audiences: 1) you, the technical interviewer, and 2) the interpreter, a non-technical individual who needs to accuratly interpret what the canidate says. A balancing act that can be quite challenging at times.
• Some candidates may read closed captions to monitor interpretation accuracy, which adds to their cognitive load. If they notice a misinterpretation, they may repeat their statements.

To best assess a candidate’s expertise at each interview stage, please review the guidelines in the section Interview Stage Specific Guide.